Starfleet Officers and Vortex Manipulators
by Frank Toadfish
Summary: It's a different kind of night out for the Torchwood team when they accidentally arrive on Deep Space Nine.


Unfortunately, none of these characters, space stations or gadgets belong to me. But if they did, I'd make sure there was a programme out there somewhere with them all in it, where they could all live a happy life amongst the stars, and not be killed by Gul Dukat or the 456...

"**Uncle Quark!"**

**The young ferengi's voice echoed across the empty bar, but was lost in the delighted screams and whooping voices surrounding the one occupied Dabo table.**

"**Uncle Quark!" Nog tried again, raising his voice. When no one acknowledged him, Nog screamed, a high-pitched, ear-splitting squeal.**

**The people round the Dabo table stopped laughing, and looked over at the source of the noise, surprised and a little alarmed.**

**Odo rushed over, dropping a strip of gold-pressed latinum that he had been holding onto the table, and came to a stop beside Nog.**

"**Has someone been hurt?"**

"**No, no..." Nog said. "I just need to tell my uncle something."**

"**Tell me what?" asked Quark, frowning. "Don't tell me, Morn's been complaining about his stomachs again, and is threatening to sue me."**

**Doctor Bashir laughed. "Dodgy synthale, Quark?"**

"**I always wondered why mine tasted a bit off," smiled Chief O'Brien.**

"**There's nothing wrong with my synthale!" snapped Quark, glaring at them both. "Now, Nog. What are you trying to tell me?"**

"**A group of people just materialised in Ops," Nog said excitedly.**

**Captain Sisko looked at him. "Why didn't you come to me about this?"**

**Nog looked at his uncle. "I didn't want to interrupt your Dabo game." Sisko raised an eyebrow.**

"**OK, OK. They wanted to know where they could get a drink."**

*** * ***

"**Somewhere fun, with a lot of "cool", you said," Owen stated, boredom showing on his thin face.**

"**I have to admit, Jack, this doesn't look like much of a nightclub, or a pub of any kind," said Gwen.**

"**It has flashing lights, though," pointed out Ianto. **

**Jack grinned. "I should have told you all beforehand that my vortex manipulator isn't always 100% accurate -"**

"**Yeah," Owen muttered under his breath. "We were only going to transport half a mile down the flipping road."**

"**- But at least we found something for Tosh to have fun with," Jack continued.**

**Toshiko's eyes were wide, taking in the advanced mechanical devices, technological structures and the scientific atmosphere. "Wow," she breathed, and went to touch what she assumed was some kind of computer.**

"**Stop!" cried Odo, as he and the senior officers ran into Ops. "Don't touch anything, or I'll arrest you for unauthorised entry and attempted control over this space station!"**

**Owen, Gwen, Tosh and Ianto put their hands in the air. Jack moved his into a gesture of innocence.**

"**We're sorry. We didn't mean to intrude. My vortex manipu- transport device – is somewhat...inaccurate, you see."**

"**Tell me about it," Owen glared, annoyed.**

"**Where were you heading?" asked Kira, not unkindly, but who was still pointing her phaser at Jack.**

"**Uh..." Jack paused.**

"**Bajor," Tosh whispered to him, who had lowered her hands, and had just looked at her PDA.**

"**Bajor," Jack said, a little puzzled.**

"**I don't think these guys are any threat," Miles said, who was holding a tricorder. "They're all human, and judging by their clothes, I'd say they're from before our time."**

"**I think you may have just experienced time travel," Sisko said to the Torchwood team.**

"**Makes a change, us being told that," Ianto said, to no one in particular.**

*** * ***

"**What time are you from?" Sisko asked. "Starfleet have had more than a few encounters with people from other times, it's happened a few times here as well, so you don't need to be worried."**

"**We're from the 21****st**** Century," Jack replied. "And we're not worried, in fact, we experience this kind of thing all the time. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, by the way," he grinned, and held out a hand. Sisko shook it.**

"**I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko," he said. "I'm in charge of this station."**

"**Major Kira Nerys," Kira said, and shook Jack's hand too. Jack winked at her.**

"**Chief Miles O'Brien," Miles said. "And that's the best medical officer we have here, Doctor Julian Bashir." He jerked his thumb in Julian's direction.**

"_**Constable**_** Odo," Odo said, with obvious displeasure at his title. "But you can just call me Odo."**

"**Perhaps we should introduce ourselves?" Tosh asked. She was enjoying herself, but what she really wanted to do was to have a look at what her PDA called "Cardassian-built technology". It sounded quite interesting.**

**The rest of the Torchwood team introduced themselves, and Chief O'Brien suggested that they go to Quark's.**

"**A bar?" Owen inquired, and with a nod from Miles, the strange collection of people made their way in the direction of the promenade.**

*** * ***

**Kira laughed good-naturedly as Gwen asked her the question that had been preying on her mind for the past twenty minutes.**

"**So your nose always looks like that?"**

"**It's genetic," smiled Kira, and then laughed again when Gwen coughed, unused to the alien alcohol. "And Romulan wine takes some getting used to!" ...**

"**So, let me get this straight," Owen asked Doctor Bashir, after they had been discussing medical instruments. "They've got a device that can repair scars and wounds?"**

"**Yes," said Julian. "It's called a dermal re-generator."**

"**D'you think it could repair this?" Owen grinned, and pulled down his t-shirt to reveal the ugly wound caused by the bullet that had taken his life.**

"**It...probably could," assured Julian, who was looking at Owen's chest, slightly appalled, thinking Owen was a bit weird. He was starting to creep Julian out. He needed a distraction.**

"**Hey Miles!" he called. "Look at Owen's horrific injury!" ...**

"**I don't believe you, Jack," Ianto moaned. "You've only been away for less than two hours, and you've already flirted with everyone here." He looked at Jack. "What ****am I saying? Of course I believe you. It's what you're like." Ianto took a sip of his drink.**

"**What did you order?" Jack asked him.**

"**It's apparently the speciality in the coffee department, so the guy with the weird forehead said. I think he called it a "rack-te-geno" or something, but I wasn't too sure if that's what he said, because that was when you tried to flirt with him, and that scared him off."**

"**Let me try some," Jack said, and Ianto handed the mug to him. Jack drank a mouthful, and smiled. "Yours is better." ...**

**Tosh was sat round one of the tables with Sisko, Odo and Jadzia, who had returned from a runabout expedition.**

"**So, that's about everything I know that can help you," Tosh said. "I know I'm far more inexperienced than you, especially you, Jadzia, but I think that what I've said could be quite beneficial if you want to beat this "Dominion".**

"**Tosh, you've been a great help," said Captain Sisko admiringly.**

"**You're amazing," agreed Jadzia. "And with 300 years of meeting scientists and technicians, I really mean that."**

"**Just glad to be of service," Tosh smiled.**

"**It's just a shame we can't give you any data about this time," Sisko sighed. "It might cause problems if the information fell into the wrong hands, because it could alter the timeline, and then we'd be affected too."**

"**I understand," said Toshiko. "But the memories of this evening are a big enough reward for me."**

"**Perhaps you and your colleagues should be getting back," Odo suggested, looking over at Jack, who was eyeing up Garak as he entered the bar. "We don't want the entire station to know you've been here."**

*** * * **

**After the handshakes and the goodbye hugs, the Cardiff alien investigators assembled themselves on the transporter pad.**

"**Everyone grip hands, like we did before, OK?" Jack told them. Ianto took his hand, a little tighter than usual, and Gwen took the other. Tosh and Owen held each other's hand, and Tosh gripped Gwen's other hand so they were all linked together.**

"**Get ready, guys," Jack said, and pushed a button on his vortex manipulator.**

"**Oh, Mr. Harkness?" said Captain Sisko.**

"**Yeah?" replied Jack, as the team began to fade.**

"**The 21st Century is where everything changes, and you've got to be ready."**

"**Damn," said Jack, as they appeared in the Hub. "I was gonna say that." **


End file.
